Andy Burnham is one of the frontrunners to replace Sir Keir Starmer, but his path prime minister would be tricky and could see Manchester United legend replace him
For years, Labour MPs sat in opposition and scoffed at the chaos taking place on the other side, accusing their Tory rivals of throwing the country into total instability all for the sake of personal ambition and party ruthlessness.
But now, less than two years after a landslide election win, Labour MPs are sharpening their knives and jostling for position, all-the-while Government borrowing rates skyrocket as a result of the uncertainty causing a real financial impact on ordinary Brits. The whispers around Westminster are that Sir Keir Starmer is a busted flush, but how exactly do his critics go about getting dealt a new hand, and who is likely to stand up and challenge the flailing Prime Minister?
MPs like Wes Streeting and Angela Rayner are known to have solid support bases within the party, and both are rumoured to have deeply held ambitions of one day taking the top job. But interestingly, many are instead tipping Andy Burnham for Starmer’s replacement, despite the current Mayor of Greater Manchester not being a sitting Member of Parliament.
The process for this to happen is a little bit fiddly. Not only does Burnham need to wiggle his way into the Commons, but a byelection would need to be held to replace him as Greater Manchester Mayor.
While the 56-year-old has remained tight-lipped about both these issues, a remarkable rumour has emerged that former England defender turned Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville could be in line to stand as the Labour candidate in a byelection if he stands down.
The Daily Star takes a look at exactly how Burnham could land a seat in Parliament, and how likely it is that the former England right back could become a left-wing mayoral candidate.
Operation Handy Andy
Burnham is a popular figure within the party but in order to get the top job he needs one of his allies to make the ultimate sacrifice and quit as an MP, triggering a byelection.
Josh Simons, the Member of Parliament for Makerfield in the north-west, has already stood down from his role as MP in hopes that Burnham can replace him, calling on the current Manchester mayor to provide “a new direction” for the government.
Andy Burnham has since confirmed that is is going to try and to stand in a by-election as the MP for Makerfield in the north-west, giving the Mayor of Greater Manchester a path back to Parliament.
Burnham did not say he would challenge Sir Keir Starmer in his statement, but said he wanted to give “the Prime Minister and the Government the space and stability they need as the by-election takes place”.
“I can confirm that I will be requesting the permission of the NEC to stand in the Makerfield by-election,” he said in a post on X. He added: “I grew up in this area and have lived here for 25 years. I care deeply about it and its people. I know they have been let down by national politics.”
Judging by Labour’s horror show at the recent local elections, victory in the by-election that this resignation will trigger will hardly be a guarantee.
Burnham’s critics will no doubt use this risky play something to smear him with, arguing that he is putting personal ambition over the party he was hoping to lead.
To make matters even worse, he wioll also have to get a approval from Labour’s NEC, a powerful body made up of MPs, union leaders and party members that picks who runs where. It previously blocked Burnham from standing in the Gorton and Denton byelection, a seat which Labour lost to the Greens.
If he does manage all this and somehow finds himself sitting in the Houses of Commons, Burnham would then be able to launch a full-scale leadership bid, but would support from at least 81 Labour MPs to get on the ballot before convincing party members and trade union supporters that he deserves the PM job.
Not another one…
Any move from Burnham into the Commons would require another mayoral election to be held in the Greater Manchester region and potentially risk Labour losing a key northern Mayoralty.
The party are currently hurting ins the polls, and after a disastrous set of local election results even the most optimistic of Labour supporters would be anxious about their parties chances with Reform and Green surging in popularity.
Both parties would relish the chance to unseat a Labour-held position, so Burnham would have to bank on his party putting forward a strong replacement candidate to avoid his switch to the commons being seen as scorched earth move.
Incredibly, Gary Neville’s name has been one on the lips of many political pundits. Sky News’ super serious political reporter Sam Coates suggested the former footballer could be a possibility.
He wrote on X: “Gary Neville is a name that some talk about, but I’m told he may not have been approached so could be utterly wishful thinking.”
Neville, who joined the Labour party in 2022, has not been shy about his political ambitions, previously telling the Guardian: “I want to support Labour. I do believe that we need a progressive Labour party but one that not just looks after the left side … it has to come towards the centre.”
“I say to myself sometimes ‘I’m able to communicate. I know what I want. I have got a business mind, I can manage people.’
“But I just think I’d get eaten alive. I don’t know what Whitehall’s like, what Westminster’s like, I can only imagine what you have to do there to survive and I don’t play the game. So how can I get in?”
Who else could replace Starmer?
Wes Streeting has emerged as a front-runner to replace his former political ally Starmer, with the former Health Secretary resigning from the Cabinet today (May 14) and hitting the PM with some withering criticisms.
In his letter to Starmer, Streeting wrote: “Where we need vision, we have a vacuum. Where we need direction, we have drift. This was underscored by your speech on Monday. Leaders take responsibility, but too often that has meant other people falling on their swords.
“You also need to listen to your colleagues, including backbenchers, and the heavy-handed approach to dissenting voices diminishes our politics.”
Former Deputy PM Angela Rayner and former Labour leader Ed Miliband have also been rumoured for to be in the running. Anyone wanting to officially throw their hat in the ring at the leadership election would require at least 81 signatures from fellow Labour MPs.
Sir Keir would be automatically on the ballot paper if he chose to contest the leadership election as the sitting leader and would continue as PM. Party members and affiliated trade union supporters vote by ranking the candidates in order of preference.
A candidate with more than 50% of first preferences is elected. If nobody achieves that, the bottom candidate is eliminated, and the voters who put them as their number one will see their vote moved to their second choice.
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